Working with a master

“Matt is an awesome guy. I’ve known him for 20 years and he is awesome. When you get the combination of a great guy and a great musician, that is a joy, it is a lot of fun.

"Matt in Pearl Jam has to turn his head around a little bit because he has to play a little differently because it is a little bit of a different band [to Soundgarden]. Although, technically he was Pearl Jam’s first drummer because I think he played on some early demos. They’ve known Matt as long as anybody and are all friends. It’s a little different though with Pearl Jam and I think we have to keep reminding ourselves that when making the record. But he is fantastic and would do anything we asked and he was smart about it. He understands the process and doesn’t bitch about it. A lot of the time I’ll have drummers who don’t make a lot of records and I’ll say, ‘Ok, we’re going to drop in the chorus,’ and they’ll say, ‘Well, I want to get it in one take.’ It is not a live performance, I don’t give a s*** about that, we’re making a record. Matt gets all of that."